Founder of dog rescue group arrested after 128 dogs found in U-Haul truck

Members of the Fayette Co. Animal Control, Animal Rescue and the West Tenn. Drug Task Force round up 128 dogs found in a U-Haul trailer that was pulled over on to investigate for drugs on I-40 East of Memphis, Tenn. on Jan. 17, 2012. Instead, the dogs and one cat were found, all of which were locked in cages with tie-fasteners and no ventilation.

Authorities in West Tennessee arrested two women when they discovered 128 live dogs, one dead dog and a live cat inside a U-Haul truck and a minivan during a traffic stop on Interstate 40, WSMV-TV reports.

The Commercial-Appeal in Memphis reports that the dogs were hungry, thirsty and living in squalor, without ventilation. The newspaper reported that the arrested women were associated with Hearts for Hounds, a dog rescue organization:

By Tuesday afternoon, the women -- Bonnie Sheehan, 55, and a passenger, Pamela A. King-McCracken, 59, both of the Long Beach, Calif., area -- each faced 128 counts of aggravated animal cruelty, a Class E felony, and were jailed on $100,000 bond each in Fayette County.

Officials at the scene said the women were driving from California to Virginia. A check of the website for Hearts for Hounds showed they were relocating from Long Beach to Virginia. Sheehan is shown as the organization's founder. Read the full story.